Boris Johnson U-turn on national rail travelcard fare hike

Boris Johnson backtracked on plans to put up the cost of travelcards today as he indicted they would be frozen as a result of the Chancellor’s autumn statement instead.

City Hall appeared to be taken by surprise by George Osborne’s announcement that national rail fares would be kept flat in real terms, rather than going up by more than inflation as planned.

It comes just days after the Mayor told Londoners that weekly, monthly and annual travelcards would go up by more than inflation, although the overall fares package would see a real terms freeze.

Mr Johnson immediately issued a statement calling for the Treasury to fund Transport for London to hold travelcards - jointly priced with rail companies - in line with inflation.

“We look forward to receiving the additional funding from Government that will enable us to now hold travelcard fare rises to RPI, in line with the rest of the country,” he said.

However, his call was removed from a later statement which congratulated the Chancellor on providing “further great news” for London commuters.

“It’s good news that George also has been able to secure a deal that will keep London commuters rail fares at inflation rather than above it. They’ve made a very welcome decision,” a City Hall source
added.

Bringing travelcards into line with national rail prices would cost an extra £10 million a year. City Hall denied TfL would have to rip up the fares package and start again, insisting it only involved a simple readjustment of travel card prices.

City Hall sources said that he had been “assured” that Londoners would also benefit from Mr Osborne’s announcement.

They claimed the Mayor was “relaxed” about the offer and that the Government was simply following his lead. But the episode will have particular resonance as the Chancellor is likely to be Mr Johnson’s main rival in a future contest for the Tory crown.

Val Shawcross, Labour transport spokesman for London, said: “We now need Boris to reduce his fare increases to inflation on travel cards as well, these are used by 1.2million people in the capital each day. This will offer some people who are struggling with the cost of living crisis limited relief.

“There also seems to be total confusion at the Mayor’s office as to what this means. It’s a real shame the government and Mayor aren’t as joined up as they should be. Londoners need certainty over what today’s announcement means for them.”